Some 600 billion cubic feet of gas were found at Bhedoria gas-field in Bhola, said cabinet secretary M Shafiul Alam yesterday, reports UNB. "The Prime Minister was informed at the cabinet meeting today that some 600 billion cubic feet of gas was found in the gas-field of Bhedoria in Bhola," he told a press briefing at the secretariat after the meeting. Bhedoria, located in the northern part of Bhola, is the 27th gas-field of the country. Bhola North-1, an exploratory well, appears to be a new hub but more tests are necessary for confirmation, said a Bapex (Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company) official.

The state owned company began digging a well at the Bheduria site in December last year, according to sources. Experts said the site appears to be a new gas field with an estimated reserve of 600 billion cubic feet of gas.

Bapex started drilling the Shahbazpur East-1 gas well in Bhola in November last year. The well has around 720 billion cubic feet gas in reserve, according to Bapex. A total of 1.5 trillion cubic feet gas is reserved in Bhola, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the cabinet meeting yesterday.

The proven reserves of the 26 established gas fields in Bangladesh stand at 13.6 trillion cubic feet, as per Petrobangla data.

Bangladesh produces 2.7 billion cubic feet natural gas a day, against demand for 3.4 billion cubic feet.